How to send audiobook ARCs and samples with a private listening link

Reviews sell audiobooks, and reviewers need time to listen. An eight-hour book takes a reviewer weeks to fit in, so the copies have to go out well before release. The same goes for the people around the book: a co-author who wants to hear the narrator, a publisher deciding on a deal, newsletter readers you want excited before launch day.

Emailing a folder of MP3 files is clumsy and you lose control of them the moment you hit send. A private listening link is simpler: one link, opened in any browser, that you can end whenever you like. This guide covers who to send what, and how to do it in VoicedBook.

What an audiobook ARC is

An ARC (advance review copy) is a free copy sent to reviewers before or around release, in exchange for an honest review. For audiobooks it is sometimes called an ALC, an advance listening copy. The goal is to have reviews and ratings in place when the book goes on sale, because new listeners look at them before they buy.

Who to send what

Who	What to send	Link length
Reviewers and your ARC team	The whole book	30 days
Newsletter and social followers	A 5-minute sample	Until you turn it off
A co-author or editor checking the narration	The whole book, or an audition before you narrate	7 days
A publisher or agent	A sample first, the whole book if they ask	30 days
Beta listeners	The first chapters as a whole-book link while you fix the rest	7 days

Reviewers need time. Plan at least three weeks for a full-length book, and send copies a month or more before release if you can.

Step by step in VoicedBook

1. Master the book

Links play the mastered chapter files, the same audio that goes into your store packages. On the Export page, master the book (building any export does this too).

2. Choose what to share

In the Share a listening link card on the Export page, pick one of three things:

• Whole book: every mastered chapter in order, with a chapter list. It always plays your latest masters, so a chapter you fix and master again is fixed for every listener.
• 5-minute sample: the opening of the first chapter, with a short fade at the end. This is the one to post publicly.
• Voice audition: your latest audition from the Voice page. Useful when you want a co-author's opinion on the narrator before narrating the whole book.

3. Pick how long it works

7 days, 30 days, or until you turn it off. After the end date the page tells the listener the link has expired.

4. Send the link

Press Make link and it is copied for you. Paste it into your email, newsletter or message. Chat apps show the book title in the preview, and the cover if you added one on the Export page. The listener opens it in the browser and presses play: no account, no app, nothing to install.

5. See who listened, and turn links off

Each link shows how many times it was opened. Make one link per reviewer if you want to know who actually listened. Press Turn off and the page stops playing at once.

What listeners can and cannot do

• They can listen to what you shared, seek inside a chapter and jump between chapters.
• There is no download button, and the link reaches nothing else of your book: not the manuscript, not other links, not your account.
• Be realistic: anything a browser can play, a determined person can record. Send the full book to people you trust and use the sample for everyone else. This is true of every streaming review copy.

Other ways to send audiobook ARCs

Dedicated delivery services such as BookFunnel can send audiobook review copies to an ARC team with unique download links, reminders and their own listening app. They are worth a look if you run a large ARC team across many books. Reviewer platforms like BookSirens, Booksprout and Reedsy Discovery help you find reviewers in the first place. A VoicedBook link costs nothing and needs no setup, which makes it the quick option for a few reviewers, a co-author or a publisher.

Tips that get more reviews

1. Write to each reviewer by name and say why the book fits what they review.
2. Give the release date and when you hope to see the review.
3. Say clearly that the narration is AI generated. Reviewers and stores both expect the disclosure.
4. Follow up once, a week before release, with the store links.

Common questions

Does the listener need an account or an app?

No. They open the link in any browser, on a phone or a computer, and press play. There is nothing to install and no sign up.

Can listeners download the files?

The page has no download button and the link reaches nothing else in your book. A browser can still record what it plays, so send full books to people you trust and use the 5-minute sample for wider audiences.

What does sharing cost?

Nothing. Listening links are included, however many people open them.

What happens if I fix a chapter after sending a whole-book link?

A whole-book link always plays your latest masters, so listeners hear the fixed chapter once you master it again. Sample and audition links keep the audio they were made with.

Can I stop a link?

Yes. Press Turn off on the Export page and the page stops playing at once. Links can also end by themselves after 7 or 30 days.